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So how do you further improve the Maserati GranTurismo coupe? Well, for one you start off with the sportiest model of the range, the 440HP GranTurismo S. Then you begin upgrading it with a bunch of mechanical and styling parts from the company's newly launched MC Sport Line customization catalogue.

Maserati did not say which items from the lineup made their way onto the limited edition GranTurismo S MC Sport Line, but we do know that only 12 examples finished in a Matt White "ice" color will be built and sold exclusively to customers in the Middle East.

And if you're wondering why twelve cars, Maserati said it's because that's the number of world titles won by the firm's MC12 racer in the FIA GT International Championship since 2005, but also because twelve are the Middle East cities where Maserati is present with a dedicated showroom.

Each example of the GraTurismo S MC Sport Line will feature an internal plaque with the name of the city to which it is committed.

Later on, Maserati will produced a second run of 11 units of the car, this time finished in a Matt Bianco Fuji with pearlescent nuances, all of which will be destined for its home market in Italy.

The convertible version of the Maserati GrandTurismo coupe, the GranCabrio, is available for order now in the UK with OTR prices starting from £95,630. The first right-hand drive examples will reach Maserati's showrooms in April 2010. It comes equipped with a folding fabric roof and according to Maserati, it features the longest wheelbase (2,492mm) of any convertible available on the market, meaning that it should offer adequate room for all four passengers.

The GranCabrio is powered by a 4.7-liter V8 delivering 440 HP and 490Nm (362 lb-ft) of torque. All that action is sent to the rear wheels through a ZF automatic six-speed gearbox with Maserati announcing a 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 5.4 seconds and a top speed of 281 km/h or 175 mph.

Buyers can choose from 14 different colors for the body and six different shades for the soft top. In addition to the wide range of options, Maserati also offers a bespoke four-piece leather luggage set which fits perfectly into the boot.

It's not only volume brands that are reducing their average CO2 performance across their fleet, so are supercar and luxury vehicle makers, according to a report by auto consultancy JATO Dynamics that compares the average CO2 output of vehicles sold by selected specialty car brands in the first half (H1) of 2008 to the same period in 2009. With the exception of Maserati that recorded a 20g/km increase in CO2 output, all other makers included in the study showed a reduction in the average CO2 emissions of the cars they sold in the first half of 2009 compared to H1 2008.

"Of course, supercars are starting from a high base and have more scope to reduce emissions than mainstream cars, but the speed with which they are improving their CO2 performance should be credited," commented David Di Girolamo, Head of JATO Consult.

"Sales volumes might be on a smaller scale, but those manufacturers we studied sell close to 100,000 cars combined each year, and we know well that the days of supercar makers being excluded from the environmental debate are over," Girolamo added.

Ferrari showed the highest reduction in CO2 emissions as the Italian supercar maker recorded a 40.4 g/km improvement in CO2 output of new cars sold in H1 2009 over the same period in 2008.

JATO Dynamic claims that this is the greatest volume reduction of any brand on sale in Europe representing a 9.5% improvement matching that of the best performing volume brand of H1 2009 (in Europe) which is Chevrolet.

This also shows that Ferrari is well on its track to achieving its goal to trim down CO2 emissions from 400 g/km per vehicle to 280-300 g/km, by 2012.

Percentage-wise, the overall winner in CO2 volume reduction is Alpina, a German maker that sells modified BMW cars, with a 14.1% improvement over H1 2008 - although notably on a smaller scale than many of the other companies included in the study.

However, readers should be aware of a significant factor when it comes to CO emissions and that is none other than the annual km / miles covered by these specialty cars. Meaning a Ferrari or a Lamborghini may deliver for example 350g of C02 per km, but many of these cars are driven less than 30,000 km / 20,000 miles in a period of ten years. Do the math and that comes to a (theoretical) average of 7 tons of CO2.

A VW Golf 1.4 TSI 122HP with a manual transmission for example returns 144g of CO2 per km but will cover an average of around 20,000km or more per year which comes to 28.8 tons of CO2 in ten years of use (that is, if the car has been well serviced during that time).

Maserati blew the top off the dazzling convertible version of it GranTurismo coupe, which goes by the name GranCabrio, at the Frankfurt Show today. The first four-seater convertible in the history of the Italian automaker borrows the GranTuismo S' 440HP 4.7 liter V8 engine which is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. All it takes for the driver and the passengers to enjoy an open-air experience is a push of a button and 28 seconds latter presto, the cloth top is neatly tucked away under a special compartment behind the rear seats.

The Italian firm's engineers paid particular attention to vehicle's aerodynamics, with the creation of a flat aluminum base that not only adds to the overall body's rigidity but also reduces Cx by 6 points. Amazingly and for the first time -or so Maserati claims- the topless version is able to maintain the same aerodynamic performance of the coupe, with a Cx of 0.35.

The new Maserati GranCabrio will be available for order this coming winter, with first deliveries expected to arrive the following spring of 2010.

NOTE: New Zoom Function for Photo Albums

In our never-ending quest to better our blog, (we'll list the changes in a post after the Frankfurt Show), one of the latest additions is a new zoom function for the photo galleries. The pictures not only load faster now but they also open in the same page and more importantly, are automatically re-sized according to the width/height of your browser screen without affecting the download size that remains the same.

Try it out after you refresh your browser and tell us what you think. If there's a bug, we'd appreciate it if you sent us an e-mail, and yes, a next-previous image function is in the works

Can't say that we're surprised by the results of a poll commissioned by UK's MPH featuring Top Gear Live and run by orange.co.uk/cars for the most "iconic performance car badge". As anyone would suspect, first place went to Ferrari with nearly half (48%) of all the 5,235 participants voting for the Cavallino Rampante while Aston Martin (being British and all...) took second place with 1,289 votes (25 per cent).

The raging bull of Lamborghini landed in the third position with 470 votes (9 per cent) while fourth, fifth and sixth place were taken by Bugatti, Porsche and Maseratti respectively.

And if you must know, the poll was created to drum up some publicity for the "MPH The Prestige and Performance Motor Shows" at London's Earls Court (5–8 November) and Birmingham's NEC (12-15 November).

MOST ICONIC PERFORMANCE CAR BADGES